The sound of Canadian celebration filled Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena on Thursday as the defending Olympic champions dismantled Finland 5–0 in their preliminary round finale.

The victory secured Canada’s position as the second seed in Group A and set up a quarterfinal showdown with Germany on Saturday. Just two days earlier, Canada had suffered a 5–0 defeat to the United States, which was their worst loss and first shutout in Olympic history. 

The weight of that disappointment hung over the team as they prepared to face Finland in a rescheduled matchup that had been postponed by a norovirus outbreak.

“Of course, we needed that. It felt good for all of us,” forward Laura Stacey said following the win. “We needed a good message to be sent, honestly, to everybody, but more importantly, ourselves.”

While Canada’s ability to contend for gold was questioned after the American drubbing, the team’s primary concern was restoring their own belief.

“I think we are a confident bunch. We know what we can do,” Stacey said. “Obviously, it wasn’t our best game the other night. But this is the Olympics here, and we regrouped. We battled and came back really strong today.”

Canada’s offensive outburst featured contributions from across the lineup with five different goal scorers finding the net despite managing only 23 shots on goal.

Team Canada owned the show

Jennifer Gardiner opened the scoring in the first period on strong work from her linemates Julia Gosling and Kristin O’Neill. The trio was one of Canada’s most effective combinations and generated consistent pressure throughout the opening frame.

Early in the second period, Finland briefly threatened with their only time of sustained possession and created some quality chances. But Canada’s Daryl Watts accepted a centring feed from Sarah Fillier and fired a shot high to the short side, beating Finnish netminder Sanni Ahola to double the advantage.

Team Canada closed out the preliminary round with a shutout over Finland!#2026winterolympics #womenshockey pic.twitter.com/MlbWs5LYMd

— PDub Hockey (@pdubhky) February 12, 2026

Two minutes later, O’Neill extended the lead to three goals with a shot through traffic that squeezed past Ahola’s defences. The third period belonged to Emily Clark. The veteran forward broke through with a wraparound goal before adding her second of the game later in the frame. This provided a much-needed confidence boost heading into elimination play.

Goaltender Ann-Renee Desbiens completed the shutout with 17 saves as she bounced back from being pulled in the loss to the Americans. Her performance included several critical stops, most notably denying Emma Nuutinen on a breakaway after the Finnish forward slipped behind defenders Renata Fast and Jocelyne Larocque.

Update on Marie-Philip Poulin

Team captain Marie-Philip Poulin returned to the ice for skating sessions this week but remained sidelined for the Finland game. Her status for the quarterfinal against Germany remains uncertain, forcing Canada to continue the tournament without their beloved leader.

“She felt well, obviously not good enough right now to put her in the game, so an extra couple of days will do her justice,” head coach Troy Ryan said before the game.

Canada’s Head Coach Troy Ryan says that Captain Marie-Philip Poulin skated this morning with medical staff and coaches and “she felt well, obviously not good enough right now to put her in the game (against Finland) so an extra couple days will do her justice.”@CBCOlympics… pic.twitter.com/353Bk9YGzP

— Claire Hanna (@clahanna) February 12, 2026

Despite Poulin’s absence, Canada showed serious mettle in bouncing back from their lowest moment. The question now becomes whether they can sustain this momentum against increasingly difficult opposition.

Who plays who next

The Americans maintain their position as overwhelming favourites. They have swept through the preliminary round with a perfect 4–0 record and a combined score of 20–1. They face Italy on Friday in what should be a straightforward quarterfinal.

Third-seeded Czechia will battle Group B champion Sweden on Friday while Finland despite Thursday’s setback, advances to face Switzerland in a matchup between Group A’s fourth and fifth-place finishers.

Canada’s path to defending their Olympic title now runs through Germany and potentially past familiar adversaries. But if Thursday’s performance demonstrated anything, it’s that this team refuses to surrender their crown without a fight.

As the familiar strains of “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet” echoed through the arena following each Canadian goal, the message was clear that reports of Canada’s demise may have been premature. The real test, however, still lies ahead.